<i>Yarn</i> as a verb meaning ‘talk’ in Australian English varieties

The word yarn in the sense of ‘talk’ and pronounced [ja:n] has gained currency as a marker of Australian Indigenous Englishes. I explore its origins in Australian Aboriginal languages, in early Australian contact language sources, and in early Australian, New Zealand and British English sources. In the nineteenth century the English expression spin a yarn became accepted as sailor talk for storytelling. The noun yarn became used for ‘story’, and yarn then became used as a verb. Evidence is sparse for yarn in early English-derived Australian contact languages, or in languages of the Sydney area. However, a verb yarn-in ‘speak, talk, say’ was recorded in 1843 in the Ngarrindjeri language. Verbs with forms and meanings similar to Ngarrindjeri yarn-in are found in other Aboriginal languages in inland NSW and Queensland. The modern Australian English use of yarn for ‘informal talk’ diverges from the earlier English use of yarn for entertainment talk, and is closer in meaning to the Ngarrindjeri yarn-in. Yarning is now adopted as a label in institutional discourse for talk with and among Australian Indigenous people. I suggest that the modern use is influenced by both the verbs in some Australian Aboriginal languages and the English sailor-talk use.